You Can't Take The Sky From Me
by JaimeJabs
Summary: There are two things Harry would never sacrifice. Read from one's eyes as he fights for the other. [Sequel to 'Who Keeps Him Going']


Hermione Granger was sitting in the courtyard, watching Harry as the boy pulled his usual death-defying stunts. She was troubled. Oh, it wasn't because she feared for the green-eyed wizard's life. She had gotten used to his flying habits a long time ago.

No, what troubled her was the constant pain and pressure the boy was suffering. It was only two weeks ago Harry had come out of a meeting with Professor McGonagall with his shoulder's dropped and his face red. It had taken effort but Hermione learned McGonagall had kicked Harry out of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Because Professor Umbridge had threatened with not permitting them to reform the team. _That evil hag!_

The lost look on Harry's face had broken Hermione's heart, and it took all her effort to not go to the professor's office and tell her the damage she was doing to Harry. But, she couldn't betray Harry's trust after the way he almost begged her not to tell anyone what he shared with her.

But, she regretted that decision. Okay, not the decision itself but having to make that decision even though she could see how much Harry was hurting.

It was an eye-opening experience for the brown-eyed witch. It shook her trust and faith in the authority, and she didn't think they could regain that trust. Not after they turned a blind eye as this brilliant young boy suffered.

 _Harry was right. He shouldn't suffer their cowardice and incapability._

As she watched the boy stop a mere foot off the ground after a drop, she couldn't fight her smile. _At least he still can fly. That boy loves flying._

She would never tell it to his face but watching Harry fly was one of his favourite things. The carefree smile on the boy's face and the shine on his eyes after a good near-death experience in the air were balms to her worrying soul.

And she couldn't help but worry as Umbridge, followed by a platoon of students, came out of the castle proper. She had a cruel smirk that made Hermione sure the heartless professor was about to take this one activity the green-eyed wizard had.

"Mr. Potter, come down this instant!" the lady in pink yelled as she stood in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by vultures looking for gossip.

Harry either didn't hear her or, more likely, didn't care to acknowledge her.

"Mr. Potter, I will not repeat myself. Come down!"

After a tense wait, the squat woman palmed her wand, aiming at Harry and making Hermione's heart stop in fear. She didn't even have time to do anything before the evil hag shot a well-aimed spell at the flying boy.

 _Harry!_

Hermione watched as the spell hit Harry and force him off his broom at fifty feet high, her heart in her throat, and her lungs without air. She scrambled for her wand but knew instinctively she wouldn't get it out in time to do anything. Not that she had any idea on what she could do to save her friend.

In her periphery, she saw as Headmaster made his way to the middle of the courtyard, investigating the disturbance, unaware of the imminent injury his student was facing. She didn't care. Her eyes were glued to Harry as she watched Harry pull another impossible and somehow summon his broom without a wand.

Hermione didn't bother breathing until she saw Harry wrestle control of his broom and slow his descent to a stop. The bright witch sighed in relief as she stood and sprinted to where Harry was about to touch on the ground, throwing herself at the unsuspecting boy. "Oh, Harry! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she rambled off in one breath even as Harry lost his balance and they fell.

"Ouch. Hermione, I'm fine. I'm not hurt," the now mud-covered boy answered from under her.

Before either teenager could say anything else, an unwelcome voice interrupted them, "That's a week's worth of detentions for ignoring your teacher, Mr. Potter. And another week for this unacceptable display."

Harry pushed Hermione off of him before standing and holding out his hand to help his friend. Hermione heard Harry chuckle as she rose to her feet. "You do realise what you did was attempted murder, right?"

The wicked witch smirked wickedly. "I did no such a thing."

Harry's eyebrows raised in faux-surprise as he asked, "And what would you call throwing me off my broom while I was in the air?"

"Teaching a troublesome student the consequences of disrespect."

 _Oh, how I want to punch that smirk off her face. I, Hermione Jane Granger want to punch a professor._

Harry sighed next to me with a barely contained fury on his face. "Whatever. Get to the point."

"Oh, how silly of me. I was wondering what you were thinking, riding a broom?" the psychotic woman asked in a sugary voice.

Harry smiled at the teacher and I realised things would get much worse than they already were. "I was thinking I should relax and what better way to do that than by taking to the air."

"Ah, but you have a lifelong ban, Mr. Potter. I'm afraid that's another two weeks of detention for you. It rounds up your detentions to an even month." The glee in the professor's voice was all too clear for anyone to hear.

Hermione glanced around, looking for a way to stop Harry from escalating things even further and getting expelled. To my disgust, everyone was watching the scene with an eagerness that was bordering on joy at the gossip. The worst of all was the detached expression on Headmaster's face as if nothing of interest was happening. Her respect for the once-revered man took another blow.

"You are, once again, mistaken," Harry said in an ice-cold voice. "My ban is for Quidditch. You have neither the authority to ban me from flying nor the power to enforce it."

 _He's not wrong. A ban on flying is nonsensical and near impossible to enforce._

The sickening smile on Umbridge's face didn't change. "Are you questioning my authority, Mr. Potter?"

Hermione put what she hoped was a calming hand on Harry's shoulders. It didn't help. "I question everything about you. Your character, your morals, your humanity, your mental faculties. And I find you utterly lacking in all of them, Madam," Harry answered with brutal honesty.

Hermione sighed. _To be honest, I agree with him completely, but did he have to poke the bear? Or the toad as it is._

The change in Umbridge's demeanour would've been comical if the atmosphere wasn't so tense. She went from smiling her fake smile to fury faster than a blink of an eye.

"Then again, I'm an inquisitive guy," Harry continued, taking a step forward and towering over the short woman. "Do you claim to have said authority, Madam Umbridge? Either way, I suggest you consider your next move very hard."

Umbridge's fury faltered and she took a step back at the threatening tone and body language of the famous wizard. However, no one would ever accuse her of being sensible. "Is that a threat?"

"Yes, it is," Harry answered with a confident nod. "You have gotten far too comfortable on your throne. I understand why that would be. After all, you made Dumbledore your bitch, made him sit back as you torture students."

As soon as the words left the boy's mouth, Hermione glanced at the headmaster to see a flicker of anger, followed by sadness on his face. _It's a sad day when such a powerful man doesn't even defend himself._

Hermione turned her attention back to what Harry was saying. "Don't mistake me for him. I am not afraid of you," Harry said, taking another step towards the woman who was rooted in her place. "I stood face to face with Voldemort; you, Madam, have nothing on him. Your success with my Quidditch ban emboldened you. Don't let it. I accepted your ban without a fight because I refuse to play for people who stand by in the face of injustice. You will not take 'flying' from me. You can't take the sky from me."

Harry's lips curved up in a scary smile that had no place on a gentle face like his. It honestly scared Hermione. "Go ahead and try. I dare you. Hell, I dare you to expel me. If you think I give a fuck about this school or your magical world, you are mistaken, like you often are." Harry stepped forward again, looking down on his nose to Umbridge. "But know that when the masses beg me to return to them, to save them when they realise Voldemort has indeed returned, my price will be your head."

There was a shocked silence at Harry's words. Not just at the threat. No, the shock came mostly from his proclamation he didn't care about the magical world and Hogwarts. Even Headmaster was shocked by the dare and blood drained from his face faster than Hermione ever thought possible.

"Go ahead, expel me," Harry whispered with a sweet smile.

One could hear a pin drop a mile away, the silence was so absolute. Even Umbridge was shocked to silence.

"I'm waiting."

The tension rose to levels Hermione hadn't thought possible in a school. She didn't have a clue what the students were hoping for. Either way, Umbridge didn't move a muscle.

"I guess we understand each other," Harry said and ghosted past the woman and stood in front of Dumbledore. "I will remember this day, Headmaster, to the end of my days. I will remember how you stood by after I was nearly killed. And how you stood by as my liberties were threatened unjustly by a vindictive woman. A man I used to admire once said dark times were ahead of us. He told us there will come a time we will have to choose between doing what is right and what is easy."

Hermione moved behind Harry as he finished and she could see the headmaster still refused to look at Harry. "I guess we all know where you stand on that issue, don't we?" Harry asked, not expecting an answer. "I hope you sleep well at nights, Dumbledore, because I don't."

With that, the boy who just insulted two most politically powerful people on the grounds stepped away and mounted his broom.

Hermione wasn't sure whether she wanted to scream in frustration with the boy or laugh at the audacity of him. _It's like he doesn't care he just created a mess effects of which we will feel for a long time._

Still, if Hermione couldn't lie and say she didn't find this 'to hell with it' attitude of Harry arousing. Oh, she was aware Harry just made life infinitely more difficult for himself and those around him. She just couldn't find it in her to care as she watched the smile on the raven-haired boy's face.

 _Things will be different now_ , she thought as she found a bench to wait for her friend to return. _Harry scared the crap out of a lot of people for different reasons. Dumbledore will want to re-establish himself in Harry's eyes. Umbridge will think twice before going against Harry. The students will wonder if Harry was telling the truth all along. The ministry will scramble to gain control of the situation at Hogwarts before the unease reached beyond the walls._

It was, Hermione decided, a fine mess Harry created, and she could imagine the positive outcomes with the negative. What she worried about was the green-eyed wizard's sanity. He had shown her the cracks in that Hogsmeade weekend. The things he had said and his demeanour were so out of character, she was scared he was finally breaking apart.

 _I'll just have to pick up the pieces and glue them back together if that's the case._

As Hermione sat in deep thought, watching her best friend fly like a maniac, Harry's words echoed in her mind. 'You can't take the sky from me.'


End file.
